New England PC and Web: How to enable the built in Windows firewall in Windows XP

What I will cover in the tutorial is how to enable the built in firewall in Windows XP (Pro and Home).

Using a firewall is added protection for your computer, esp if you are connected to a broadband connection.

(google)Define:Firewall:
A firewall is a hardware or software solution to enforce security policies. In the physical security analogy, a firewall is equivalent to a door lock on a perimeter door or on a door to a room inside of the building - it permits only authorized users such as those with a key or access card to enter. A firewall has built-in filters that can disallow unauthorized or potentially dangerous material from entering the system. It also logs attempted intrusions.

Step1 - Start and login to your computer

Step2 - On the desktop right click the "My Network Places" icon (Figure 1) and in the drop down menu, left click properties. This will bring up your network connections (Figure 2)

(Figure 1)

(Figure 2)

**If you do not see My Network Places on the desktop, click start menu and you should see it there**

Step 3 - Once you have the network connections windows up, you want to right click on the Local Area Network icon and go to properties. Another window will pop up with three tabs, you want to go to the last tab "Adavanced" and click the "Settings" button. (Figure 3)

(Figure 3)

Step 4 - Once in there you will see two different radio button options for on and off. Choose on, and put a check mark in the "Don't Allow Exceptions"(Figure 4). What this will do is turn your firewall on and not allow any exceptions to the firewall rules. In a later tutorial we will cover exceptions and advanced firewall options. For now this is the basic firewall setup.
now click ok and ok and your firewall is active!

(Figure 4)